The EU AU summit – the EU must end its interference in Africa
On 30 November, the two day EU-AU summit came to a close in Abidjan, the capital of Côte D’Ivoire. Commentators noted the neo-colonial overtones in the choice of venue, given that the current president of that country, Alassane Ouattara, was installed by French paratroopers in 2010 while the previous president, Laurent Gbagbo, is languishing in a prison cell in the Netherlands, another African victim awaiting his turn in the hands of the so-called International Criminal Court.
This reality was confirmed by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who, on his way to Abidjan, delivered another one of his anti-African outbursts during his stop-over in Burkina Faso. Asked by Burkinabe students, whom he was addressing at the University of Ouagadougou, why there were more French soldiers in Africa than African students in France, Macron declared that the students should applaud the French soldiers as they were allegedly all over Africa in order to protect Africans. Turning to the dire situation in Libya, which was also raised by the students, Macron declared that the problem in Libya is that Africans are making other African slaves and added that France intended to fight this crime. Not once did he mention the central role that France played in NATO’s destruction of Libya in 2011 and the elevation to power of those forces they had gathered together to wage war on that country. It was this act of aggression that has unleashed instability, insecurity and mass human suffering not only in Libya but also in the wider Sahel region.
This reality was confirmed by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who, on his way to Abidjan, delivered another one of his anti-African outbursts during his stop-over in Burkina Faso. Asked by Burkinabe students, whom he was addressing at the University of Ouagadougou, why there were more French soldiers in Africa than African students in France, Macron declared that the students should applaud the French soldiers as they were allegedly all over Africa in order to protect Africans. Turning to the dire situation in Libya, which was also raised by the students, Macron declared that the problem in Libya is that Africans are making other African slaves and added that France intended to fight this crime. Not once did he mention the central role that France played in NATO’s destruction of Libya in 2011 and the elevation to power of those forces they had gathered together to wage war on that country. It was this act of aggression that has unleashed instability, insecurity and mass human suffering not only in Libya but also in the wider Sahel region.
Donald Tusk, President of the Council of the EU addresses the summit
The summit itself was attended by high ranking members of the EU, including Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, Donald Tusk, the President of the Council of the EU and Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Also in attendance were Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel and France’s president Emmanuel Macron The summit’s declared goal was to focus on investing in youth as well as discussing peace and security, mobility and migration and investment and trade. The presence of such high powered EU politicians in Abidjan can be best explained by the statement of Angel Losada, the EU’s High Representative for the Sahel that, “…..the Sahel is one of the most important points and a polygon of crisis for Europe,…… it is the border of our border”. The summit can, therefore, best be viewed as part of the EU’s efforts to achieve its strategic goals in Africa. This reality was reflected in the agreements and declarations coming out of it.
The summit issued a final declaration which addressed a number of areas, including economic growth, investment, peace, security, migration and governance. With regard to peace and security, the declaration claimed that Africa and the EU “….have common security threats...... particularly the growing terrorist threats and trans-boundary criminal activities” and that ‘peace and security’ would be at the heart of the EU-AU partnership. It further stated that the summit had agreed on “……. the principle of developing as soon as possible a framework document, which will put our partnership on peace and security on a more solid and structured basis”. In this way the EU aims to consolidate and intensify its already extensive and destructive military interference in Africa, which brings people in Africa neither peace nor security.
A key initiative unveiled by the EU at the summit was its External Investment Plan (EIP) whose declared aim is to “…. crowd in private investors, where viable business proposals meet social needs”. This plan envisages the establishment of a European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD) with an allocation of €4.1 billion from the European Commission and a further €44 billion of private capital from within the EU to fund investment in Africa. Basing itself on the current neo-liberal dogma that economic development is dependent on attracting foreign direct investment, the EU declares that the EIP is its contribution to current global commitments to “mobilise private resources and to apply innovative financing models” to address the issues of social and economic development in Africa. It is clear from this that under the guise of addressing economic underdevelopment in Africa, the EU is seeking out investment opportunities for its monopolies to further plunder Africa and deepen its enslaving economic ties with the African continent.
In light of the current chaos in Libya, including the selling of people as slaves, which has resulted from NATO’s aggression against that country in 2011, the summit also issued a joint statement on the “Migrant Situation in Libya”. Reflecting the remarks made by Macron in Ouagadougou, the statement makes no mention of NATO’s aggression against Libya. Instead, it presents the issue as ‘a struggle against criminal human traffickers’. It further “…..welcomed ongoing efforts of the Presidential Council and the Government of National Accord of Libya in undertaking appropriate measures to address such incidents”. This statement turns reality on its head, given the fact that it is precisely the various militias which NATO cobbled together in 2011 and which they have installed in power in that country who are responsible not only for the ongoing racist outrages but have been involved in such outrages since 2011. Finally the statement declares that a “lasting resolution of the issue of African migrants is closely linked to addressing the root causes of the phenomenon and requires a political solution to the persistent crisis in Libya”. With this statement, the EU signals its intention to use the chaos and insecurity its previous interventions in Libya and the wider Sahel have caused as justification for further intervention.
The EU-AU summit is a means for the European monopolies to further their interests in Africa. The EU must end its criminal interference in Africa which is bringing one disaster after a next for the people of that continent.
The summit issued a final declaration which addressed a number of areas, including economic growth, investment, peace, security, migration and governance. With regard to peace and security, the declaration claimed that Africa and the EU “….have common security threats...... particularly the growing terrorist threats and trans-boundary criminal activities” and that ‘peace and security’ would be at the heart of the EU-AU partnership. It further stated that the summit had agreed on “……. the principle of developing as soon as possible a framework document, which will put our partnership on peace and security on a more solid and structured basis”. In this way the EU aims to consolidate and intensify its already extensive and destructive military interference in Africa, which brings people in Africa neither peace nor security.
A key initiative unveiled by the EU at the summit was its External Investment Plan (EIP) whose declared aim is to “…. crowd in private investors, where viable business proposals meet social needs”. This plan envisages the establishment of a European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD) with an allocation of €4.1 billion from the European Commission and a further €44 billion of private capital from within the EU to fund investment in Africa. Basing itself on the current neo-liberal dogma that economic development is dependent on attracting foreign direct investment, the EU declares that the EIP is its contribution to current global commitments to “mobilise private resources and to apply innovative financing models” to address the issues of social and economic development in Africa. It is clear from this that under the guise of addressing economic underdevelopment in Africa, the EU is seeking out investment opportunities for its monopolies to further plunder Africa and deepen its enslaving economic ties with the African continent.
In light of the current chaos in Libya, including the selling of people as slaves, which has resulted from NATO’s aggression against that country in 2011, the summit also issued a joint statement on the “Migrant Situation in Libya”. Reflecting the remarks made by Macron in Ouagadougou, the statement makes no mention of NATO’s aggression against Libya. Instead, it presents the issue as ‘a struggle against criminal human traffickers’. It further “…..welcomed ongoing efforts of the Presidential Council and the Government of National Accord of Libya in undertaking appropriate measures to address such incidents”. This statement turns reality on its head, given the fact that it is precisely the various militias which NATO cobbled together in 2011 and which they have installed in power in that country who are responsible not only for the ongoing racist outrages but have been involved in such outrages since 2011. Finally the statement declares that a “lasting resolution of the issue of African migrants is closely linked to addressing the root causes of the phenomenon and requires a political solution to the persistent crisis in Libya”. With this statement, the EU signals its intention to use the chaos and insecurity its previous interventions in Libya and the wider Sahel have caused as justification for further intervention.
The EU-AU summit is a means for the European monopolies to further their interests in Africa. The EU must end its criminal interference in Africa which is bringing one disaster after a next for the people of that continent.
